Friday Review: Gulp. By Mary Roach

Author Mary Roach has a knack for taking our modern manicured life and looking just underneath its surface for the truly bizarre. Fans of this space will remember our review of her previous space-based opus, Packing for Mars. For her latest adventure, the author takes us from the depths of outer space to the brave new worlds of inner space as we explore the digestive tract, literally from one end to the other.

Gulp: Adventures on the Alimentary Canal by Mary Roach out from W.W. Norton & Company Press looks at the science, history, and just plain wackiness of the gut. Why does cheesecake go from desirable to taboo once it crosses the lips? What happens between one end of the journey through the digestive tract and the other? Where did all of this hard-won knowledge come from?

We have to admit, we’ll never quite look at consuming (and excreting) foodstuffs the same way again. Mary Roach illuminates our odyssey with some fascinating but little known tales from the annals (bad pun intended) of gastroenterology. Did you know that digestion was once studied by peering into a via a patient’s fistulated but functioning human stomach? Or that there exists a Bristol stool chart? Or that you can die of constipation, and that apparently Elvis Presley had just such a “mega-colon?”

The author reveals that and more as she travels the world putting her hand inside a cow’s stomach all in the name of science journalism. But more than just the science and history of digestion, Mary roach looks at the cultural taboos that surround this hidden but necessary function. From the world of scientists and laboratories to competitive eating to the creativity of prisoners in using the GI tract for the time honored practice of smuggling, the author explores it all, literally inside and out.

But only rarely does she go for the outright gross out. Unless, of course, you’re already squeamish about such things. Did you know that you can see a mega-colon 29” in diameter at a museum in Philadelphia? “It wears the same jean size as me,” the author says in one of her more memorable quips. Such enormous colons often end up dominating a patient’s lower diaphragm, blocking blood supplies and pushing vital organs out of the way.

The book also explores those who make a living thinking about the inner workings of the gut as well as what we put in it and what comes out. From designing pet food to changing views on chewing and digestion, it’s all here.

Besides, our gut may control us more than we realize. We’re more “bacteria filled water sacs” than we’d care to think about, each with our own distinct bacterial flora. Some zombie parasites may even control our behavior… do democrats real have different bacterial colonies than republicans?

Read Gulp for a fascinating look at an essential but often overlooked part of life. Gulp is more than just good bathroom literature, though one could easily imagine it occupying a noble space next to Readers Digest on top of the porcelain water tanks of America!

Astro Documentaries

Pictured is a Delta IV rocket launch from Cape Canaveral on November 21st, 2010. The image is a 20 second exposure taken at dusk, shot from about 100 miles west of the launch site. The launch placed a classified payload in orbit for the United States Air Force.

DIY Astronomy

Difficult but not impossible to catch against the dawn or dusk sky, spotting an extreme crescent moon can be a challenge. The slender crescent pictured was shot 30 minutes before sunrise when the Moon was less than 20 hours away from New. A true feat of visual athletics to catch, a good pair of binoculars or a well aimed wide field telescopic view can help with the hunt.

The Sun is our nearest star, and goes through an 11-year cycle of activity. This image was taken via a properly filtered telescope, and shows the Sun as it appeared during its last maximum peak in 2003. This was during solar cycle #23, a period during which the Sun hurled several large flares Earthward. The next solar cycle is due to peak around 2013-14.

Astronomy Gear Reviews

Located in the belt of the constellation Orion, Messier 42, also known as the Orion Nebula is one of the finest deep sky objects in the northern hemisphere sky. Just visible as a faint smudge to the naked eye on a clear dark night, the Orion Nebula is a sure star party favorite, as it shows tendrils of gas contrasted with bright stars. M42 is a large stellar nursery, a star forming region about 1,000 light years distant.

Astronomical Observing Targets

Orbiting the planet in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) every 90 minutes, many people fail to realize that you can see the International Space Station (ISS) from most of the planet on a near-weekly basis. In fact, the ISS has been known to make up to four visible passes over the same location in one night. The image pictured is from the Fourth of July, 2011 and is a 20 second exposure of a bright ISS pass.

Next to the Sun, the two brightest objects in the sky are the Moon and the planet Venus. In fact, when Venus is favorably placed next to the Moon, it might just be possible to spot the two in the daytime. Another intriguing effect known as earthshine or ashen light is also seen in the image on the night side of the Moon; this is caused by sunlight reflected back off of the Earth towards our only satellite.

A mosaic of three images taken during the total lunar eclipse of December 21st, 2010. The eclipse occurred the same day as the winter solstice. The curve and size of the Earth’s shadow is apparent in the image.